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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan spinner Asif Afridi has created a new world record, becoming the oldest player in history to claim a five-wicket haul on debut.&nbsp;The 38-year-old left-arm spinner returned figures of 6-79 against South Africa in Rawalpindi, surpassing a record that had stood for more than 90 years. The previous mark was held by England&rsquo;s Charles Marriott, who took five wickets on debut at the age of 37 in 1933.&nbsp;Afridi also became the sixth Pakistani spinner to achieve the feat, joining Mohammad Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Bilal Asif, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed.&nbsp;The late-blooming spinner&rsquo;s journey has been anything but ordinary. Afridi made his first-class debut back in 2009 but spent years outside the national setup. In 2023, he was handed a two-year ban for breaching the PCB&rsquo;s anti-corruption code, serving one year before his suspension was lifted.&nbsp;Returning to the field, Afridi&rsquo;s accuracy and deceptive sliders rattled South Africa&rsquo;s middle order. He struck early on Day 3, dismissing Kyle Verreynne for 10, before trapping Tristan Stubbs&#39; leg-before for 76 with a straight delivery that skidded on. He completed his five-wicket haul when Simon Harmer was hit on the back leg while attempting a sweep.&nbsp;South Africa, who resumed the day on 230-6, went on to score 404 runs, thanks to an 89-run innings from Senuran Muthusamy and a quickfire 71 from No. 11 Kagiso Rabada.&nbsp;Pakistan leads the two-match Test series 1-0 after winning the opener in Lahore last week.

Cricket

Afridi also becomes the sixth Pakistani spinner to achieve the feat, joining Mohammad Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Bilal Asif, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed.

Asif Afridi makes history as oldest Test debutant with five-wicket haul

LAHORE: Pakistan on Monday named an 18-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against ICC World Test Championship holders South Africa, with uncapped players Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram, and Rohail Nazir earning call-ups.&nbsp;According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shan Masood will continue as Test captain, while red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood will oversee the training camp ahead of the first match, scheduled to begin on October 12 at Lahore&rsquo;s Gaddafi Stadium. The squad will be trimmed before the opening Test. <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972897984963924030&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=6cdb1328fb38e24c07de98462bc72ed22043ca73&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="1972897984963924030" style="width: 550px; height: 878px; min-height: 0px; position: static; visibility: visible;"></iframe></div></div></div>&nbsp;The second match of the series will take place in Rawalpindi from October 20 to 24.&nbsp;Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, former captain Babar Azam, and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi are among the senior players retained from Pakistan&rsquo;s recent Test campaigns.&nbsp;Players returning from the recently concluded ACC Men&rsquo;s T20 Asia Cup will join the red-ball camp on October 4. The training camp will run until October 8.&nbsp;The Test series marks the start of Pakistan&rsquo;s 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship campaign and will be followed by three T20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals, running from October 28 to November 8. The white-ball squad will be announced at a later date.&nbsp;Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wk), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.&nbsp;South Africa tour of Pakistan 2025 fixtures:Oct. 12&ndash;16 &ndash; 1st Test, Gaddafi Stadium, LahoreOct. 20&ndash;24 &ndash; 2nd Test, Rawalpindi Cricket StadiumOct. 28 &ndash; 1st T20I, RawalpindiOct. 31 &ndash; 2nd T20I, LahoreNov. 1 &ndash; 3rd T20I, LahoreNov. 4 &ndash; 1st ODI, FaisalabadNov. 6 &ndash; 2nd ODI, FaisalabadNov. 8 &ndash; 3rd ODI, Faisalabad

Shan Masood continues as Test captain, while uncapped players Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram, and Rohail Nazir earn call-ups.

Articles tagged with "Asif Afridi"

Asif Afridi makes history as oldest Test debutant with five-wicket haul

Pakistan announce 18-men squad for South Africa Test series